Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Final Speeches of Moses

1 ^1-5 (A) This book contains the speeches that Moses made while Israel was in the land of Moab, camped near the town of Suph in the desert east of the Jordan River. The town of Paran was in one direction from their camp, and the towns of Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab^[a] were in the opposite direction.

Earlier, Moses had defeated the Amorite King Sihon of Heshbon. Moses had also defeated King Og of Bashan, who used to live in Ashtaroth for part of the year and in Edrei for the rest of the year.

Although it takes only eleven days to walk from Mount Sinai^[b] to Kadesh-Barnea by way of the Mount Seir Road, these speeches were not made until 40 years after Israel left Egypt.^[c]

The First Speech: Moses Reviews the Past

The Lord's Command at Mount Sinai

The Lord had given Moses his laws for the people of Israel. And on the first day of the eleventh month,^[d] Moses began explaining those laws by saying:

⁶ People of Israel, when we were in our camp at Mount Sinai,^[e] the Lord our God told us:

You have stayed here long enough. ⁷ Leave this place and go into the land that belongs to the Amorites and their neighbors the Canaanites. This land includes the Jordan River valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Southern Desert, the Mediterranean seacoast, the Lebanon Mountains, and all the territory as far as the Euphrates River. ⁸ I give you this land, just as I promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now you must go and take the land.

Leaders Were Appointed

(Exodus 18.13-27)

Moses said:

⁹ Right after the Lord commanded us to leave Mount Sinai,^[f] I told you:

Israel, being your leader is too big a job for one person. ¹⁰ The Lord our God has blessed us, and so now there are as many of us as there are stars in the sky. ¹¹ God has even promised to bless us a thousand times more, and I pray that he will. ¹² But I cannot take care of all your problems and settle all your arguments alone. ¹³ Each tribe must choose some experienced men who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will make those men the official leaders of their tribes.

¹⁴ You answered, “That's a good idea!” ¹⁵ Then I took these men, who were already wise and respected leaders, and I appointed them as your official leaders. Some of them became military officers in charge of groups of 1,000, or 100, or 50, or 10, ¹⁶ and others became judges. I gave these judges the following instructions:

When you settle legal cases, your decisions must be fair. It doesn't matter if the case is between two Israelites, or between an Israelite and a foreigner living in your community. ¹⁷ And it doesn't matter if one is helpless and the other is powerful. Don't be afraid of anyone! No matter who shows up in your court, God will help you make a fair decision.

If any case is too hard for you, bring the people to me, and I will make the decision.

¹⁸ After I gave these instructions to the judges, I taught you the Lord's commands.

Herod Dies

^20 (A) Herod and the people of Tyre and Sidon were very angry with each other. But their country got its food supply from the region that he ruled. So a group of them went to see Blastus, who was one of Herod's high officials. They convinced Blastus that they wanted to make peace between their cities and Herod, ²¹ and a day was set for them to meet with him.

Herod came dressed in his royal robes. He sat down on his throne and made a speech. ²² The people shouted, “You speak more like a god than a man!” ²³ At once an angel from the Lord struck him down because he took the honor that belonged to God. Later, Herod was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ God's message kept spreading. ²⁵ And after Barnabas and Saul had done the work they were sent to do, they went back to Jerusalem^[a] with John, whose other name was Mark.